Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Boeing gets license to sell spare parts to Iran, Reuters saysBoeing has been granted a license from the U.S. Treasury Department allowing it to sell spare parts for commercial aircraft to Iran, reports Reuters. Reference Link

Airbus told suppliers to prepare for increase in A320 production, Reuters saysAirbus (EADSY) has told suppliers that it is considering increasing the number of A320 jets it produces to 50 per month as early as 2017, according to Reuters. The company, which is looking to make 48 A320 jets per month by the second quarter of 2016, currently manufactures 42 of the jets per month and had previously planned to produce 46 of them monthly by the second quarter of 2016, the news service noted. Boeing (BA) competes with Airbus in international commercial plane markets. Reference Link

On The Fly: Closing WrapStocks on Wall Street began the session in negative territory and remained there for most of the session, with the Nasdaq the lone index to post a small gain. The Dow was weighed down by shares of Boeing (BA), which slid after the stock received a downgrade. There was little in the way of positive economic news, as the most notable report showed existing homes were lower than expected due to a shortage of inventory. The averages drifted for most of the session, as investors may be waiting on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow’s banking panel testimony by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Chicago Fed national activity index rebounded to 0.13 in January, which was nearly in-line with expectations. Existing home sales dropped 4.9% to a 4.82M rate in January, which was much worse than the expected 1.8% drop to a 4.95M unit rate. In Europe, the Ifo Institute’s measure of German business confidence rose to 106.8 in February, which was up a tenth of a percentage point from the previous month but below the 107.7 consensus forecast. Also, the Bank of Israel became the latest central bank to cut rates this year, lowering its main interest rate to 0.1% from 0.25%. COMPANY NEWS: The shares of a number of health insurers rose after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, issued preliminary 2016 Medicare Advantage rates. According to Credit Suisse, the rates were favorable for the insurers. Following the CMS announcement made late Friday, Humana (HUM) climbed $8.40, or 5.38%, to $164.52, UnitedHealth (UNH) rose $3.78, or 3.36%, to $116.40, and WellCare (WCG) gained $4.68, or 5.53%, to $89.30. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was PTC Therapeutics (PTCT), which jumped $9.77, or 17.7%, to $64.96 after Reuters said the company is working with financial advisers to explore a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from several companies including Shire (SHPG) and BioMarin (BMRN). Also higher was Valeant (VRX), which rose $25.49, or 14.71%, to $198.75 after the company agreed to buy Salix (SLXP) for $158 per share and also reported better-than-forecast earnings. Salix shares, however, fell $2.09, or 1.32%, to $155.76, as a report Friday from CNBC's David Faber telegraphed the deal and suggested Valeant could value Salix around $160 per share. Among the noteworthy losers was Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI), which dropped $1.18, or 15.82%, to $6.28 after a judge ruled that a drug which could compete with the company's Fusilev treatment does not infringe on the company's intellectual property. Also lower were shares of Boeing, which fell $3.57, or 2.26%, to $154.74 after the stock was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. INDEXES: The Dow fell 23.60, or 0.13%, to 18,116.84, the Nasdaq gained 5.01, or 0.1%, to 4,960.97, and the S&P 500 slipped 0.64, or 0.03%, to 2,109.66.

Aerospace sector downgraded to Neutral from Attractive at GoldmanGoldman downgraded the Aerospace sector to Neutral based on group outperformance and increased downside risks. The firm believes Boeing (BA) and Airbus are now oversupplying the market after a decade of undersupply and replacement demand required to sustain production may prove difficult to achieve. Goldman said accelerated new aircraft replacements was partially due to fuel economics and lower fuel prices and global growth volatility could substantially change Aerospace dynamics. As part of the sector view change, Goldman downgraded Boeing to Sell from Neutral and Precision Castparts (PCP) to Natural from Buy.

Alaska Air purchasing six Boeing Extended Range aircraftAlaska Airlines (ALK) is purchasing six more Boeing (BA) 737-900 Extended Range aircraft, valued at $594M. Boeing's current list price. The new planes, four scheduled for delivery in 2016 and two in 2017, bring Alaska's total of locally manufactured jets on order to 79.

Boeing awarded $29.5M contract for laser weapons on Navy shipsBoeing said it has been awarded a $29.5M contract to design and develop a beam control system that could provide exceptional accuracy for laser weapons on U.S. Navy warships.